UU-NRLF 


NOTES  :^:r^;: 

ON  THE 

AUTOMATIC 
TIME  FUSE  GRENADE 

MODEL  1916 
With  Appendix  1 


Translated  from  the  French  editions  of 

August  22, 1916,  and  March  16,  1917,  at 

Headquarters  American  Expeditionary 

Forces,  France 


Reprinted  by  the 

ARMY  WAR  COLLEGE 

January,  1918 


"~  ]  WAR  DEPARTMENT 
"Document  No.  731. 
" !  *&fflc*  'of  The  Adjutant  General 


WAR  DEPARTMENT, 
WASHINGTON,  January  14,  1918. 

The  following  pamphlet,  entitled  "Notes  on  the  Use  of  the 
Automatic  Time  Fuse  Grenade,  Model  1916,  with  Appendix  I," 
is  published  for  the  information  of  all  concerned. 

[A.    G.    O.,   No.   062.1.] 
BY   ORDER   OF  THE    SECRETARY   OF  WAR : 

TASKER  H.  BLISS, 

General,  Chief  of  Staff. 
OFFICIAL  : 

H.  P.  McCAIN, 

The  Adjutant  General. 


•    •      August  22,  1916. 
FRENCH  MINISTRY  '••'.:; 

OF  WAR.  •••'••     •  * 


ARTILLERY.  :      /;.  ;     I  !•  •  J^  ^  :/ 

NOTES  ON' 
THE  AUTOMATIC   TIME  FUSE  GRENADE. 

MODEL  1916. 
I. 

DESCRIPTION. 

The  1916  model  automatic  grenade  (Fi  or  O  F)  is  composed 
of  'a  grenade  body  and  an  automatic  fuse-plug,  model  1916  B. 

The  fuse-plug  is  a  tubular  body,  in  which  a  slow  fuse  is 
placed,  and  on  the  inner  end  of  which  a  detonator  is  set. 

The  head  of  the  plug  contains  a  widened  cavity  that  is 
closed  by  an  inserted  cover. 

Inside  this  cavity  are  two  primers  on  either  side  of  the  end 
of  the  fuse.  Between  the  two  primers  is  a  spring  shaped  like 
a  pair  of  tongs,  the  branches  of  which  have  a  tendency  to 
separate  so  as  to  strike  simultaneously  each  primer.  A  lug 
that  passes  through  the  cover  of  the  firing-plug  engages  the 
two  branches  of  the  spring  and  keeps  them  in  place. 

This  lug  is  actuated  by  a  spiral  spring  placed  on  the  outside 
of  the  plug;  it  is  held  down  by  an  outside  lever  that  is  fastened 
first  to  a  stud  on  the  plug,  and,  secondly,  by  a  safety  split  pin 
with  a  ringed  head. 

When  this  safety  split  pin  is  withdrawn  by  pulling  it  out  by 
its  ring,  the  outside  lever  is  pushed  up  by  the  bolt,  which  is 
forced  up  by  its  spring. 

At  that  moment  the  spring  striker  is  freed  and  hits  the 
primers.  Even  if  one  of  the  primers  refuses  to  act,  the  other  is 
sufficient  to  ignite  the  fuse.  The  fuse  burns  during  five  to 
seven  seconds,  then  ignites  the  detonator  that  explodes  the 
grenade. 

II. 

TRANSPORT  OF  THE  GRENADES.   . 

The  fuse-plugs  are  sent  to  the  army  parks  in  cardboard  boxes 
containing  50  plugs. 

At  the  army  parks  the  plugs  are  placed  on  the  grenade  bodies 
and  the  grenades  packed  in  boxes  with  hinged  cover,  locks,  and 
handles  for  carrying. 

3 

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The  empty  boxes  are  returned  to  the  parks.  If  these  boxes 
are  lacking,  the  grenades  can  be  wrapped  in  paper  and  carried 
in  any  box,  packed  in  with  sawdust  or  wood  fiber. 

cGfcrr-ying  loose  tgren£d£s  in  boxes  or  sacks  must  be  avoided 
as  'lii^tqli  as  passibki£.<  ^The  soldiers  must  carry  the  grenades  in 
the  special  boxes 'or  in  'the  J.9 16  model  grenade  belts. 

\\  1 !;[  £{Y^«   1  £ ! }  m- 

'THROWING. 

First — Take  the  grenade  fully  in  the  right  hand,  the  plug  up, 
the  ring  turned  towards  the  chest  and  even  with  the  root  of 
the  thumb.  (Figure  1.) 

The  outside  lever  is  then  resting  on  the  palm  of  the  hand,  and 
is  easily  held  tight  without  effort. 

Second— Put  the  first  finger  of  the  left  hand  in  the  ring  and 
tear  out  the  safety  split  pin.  (Figure  2.) 

The  grenade  is  thus  armed  (cocked),  and  the  hand  must  be 
kept  closed  to  prevent  the  outside  lever  from  springing  off. 

Third — Aim  at  the  target  with  your  left  hand  at  arm's  length 
and  throw  the  grenade  as  prescribed  in  the  "Instructions  on 
Grenade  Combat"  of  April  7,  1916.  (Figure  3.) 

Remarks — The  grenade  must  be  held  as  close  to  the  plug  as 
possible,  so  as  to  have  the  outside  lever  well  in  hand.  Remove 
the  safety  split  pin  only  at  the  time  of  throwing.  After  the 
safety  split  pin  is  out,  hold  the  grenade  firmly,  but  without 
straining;  the  strength  needed  to  maintain  the  outside  lever  is 
insignificant,  but  must  be  continuous  from  the  moment  the 
grenade  is  "cocked"  or  "armed." 

It  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  hold  the  grenade  when  lighted, 
under  the  pretext  that  the  time  of  combustion  is  too  long. 

The  grenadier  will  avoid 
keeping  a  "cocked"  grenade 
too  long  in  his  hand,  and, 
above  all,  will  not  walk  with 
one,  as  the  grenade  might 
be  inadvertently  dropped  in 
stumbling. 

The  normal  functioning  of 
the  grenade  is  calculated  for 
an  elevation  of  25  millimeters 
(1  inch)  of  the  tail  of  the  out- 
side lever,  but  it  may  work 
exceptionally  at  a  much  lower 
elevation  because  of  the  toler- 
ance allowed  in  manufacture. 
This  is  why  it  is  recommended 
to  hold  the  hand  closed,  and 
not  to  play  the  lever  up  and 
down  to  ascertain  if  it  will 
Figure  i.  work  well. 


Figure  2. 


The  grenadier  will  soon  learn  that  this  grenade  is  easy  to 
work,  and  is  not  dangerous  unless  it  is  treated  carelessly.  If  by 
inadvertence  a  grenadier  should  drop  a  "cocked"  grenade,  he 
must  keep  cool,  pick  up  the  grenade,  and  throw  it  far  away 

• ;  fcfore  iv  explores.  - 

*•  *.%.The  tm,sitru|tojv4£y  developing  the  presence  of  mind  of  his 
grenadiers,  may  avojd  a  great  part  of  the  accidents  always  to 

I  I  tfetf«ar*ejl*<5i5  adcoimt  o£  unskillfulness. 

I  '*  I  Etering  *  JRe«* practice  he  may,  as  an  example,  drop  unex- 
pectedly an  unloaded  grenade  and  count  out  loud  from  second 
to  second ;  the  grenade  must  be  picked  up,  thrown,  and  all  the 
men  be  in  the  dugouts  before  he  reaches  the  number  "five." 

UNEXPLODED  GRENADES. 

All  unexploded  grenades  must  be  considered  as  dangerous 
to  the  same  degree  as  a  fired  and  unexploded  shell.  Leaving 
unexploded  grenades  on  the  practice  grounds  must  be  avoided. 

Because  of  the  length  of  combustion  of  the  fuse  there  is  no 
danger  in  picking  up  an  unexploded  grenade  as  long  as  one 
takes  the  necessary  precautions  and  throws  it  far  away  if  it 
should  ignite. 

If  a  body  of  troops  happens  to  camp  on  a  place  where  there 
are  unexploded  grenades  lying  about,  they  must  be  removed  as 
soon  as  possible. 

To  do  this,  all  the  men  must  take  cover  while  one  man  pro- 
ceeds to  remove  one  grenade  after  another,  possibly  marking 
them  beforehand  by  a  twig  or  any  other  object. 

Usually  the  failures  come  from  non-ignition  of  the  fuse  or 
from  non-ignition  of  the  detonator;  sometimes  from  a  mis- 
placed fuse-plug,  and  less  frequently  from  unexploded  primers. 

When  the  hole  of  the  lug  is  not  filled  with  mud,  it  is  easy  to> 
see  if  the  caps  have  been  fired,  because  in  that  case  the  tube  is 
blackened.  If  so,  the  grenade  is  no  more  dangerous  to  handle 
than  an  ordinary  grenade. 

If  the  sides  of  the  tube  are  white  and  shining,  on  the  contrary, 
then  the  primers  have  not  been  exploded,  and  in  that  case  the 
spring  striker  being  in  contact  with  the  primers,  a  shock  may 
be  expected  to  ignite  them.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  when  a  prac- 
tice grenade,  the  primers  of  which  have  failed  to  work,  is 
struck  against  a  rock  or  a  hard  body,  it  is  possible  to  break  the 
plug  in  pieces  before  the  primers  will  explode,  and  this  is 
explainable  by  the  small  mass  of  the  striker  spring. 

Be  that  as  it  may,  when  it  is  uncertain  as  to  whether  the 
primers  have  gone  off,  it  is  best  to  carry  off  the  grenades  by 
hand,  one  at  a  time,  watching  them  so  as  to  be  ready  to  throw 
any  that  might  become  ignited. 

The  unexploded  grenades  are  placed  in  a  pile  and  exploded  by 
a  petard. 

It  is  advantageous  to  use  unexploded  grenades  in  loading  a 
fougasse. 

6 


It  is  absolutely  forbidden  to  unscrew  the  firing-plug  of  a 
loaded  grenade  without  using  the  special  apparatus  made  to 
that  effect  with  an  arrangement  to  protect  the  operator  from 
fragments. 

If  more  than  six  (6)  per  cent  failures  are  noted,  it  is  best  to 
report  the  fact,  indicating  the  marks  stamped  on  the  fuse-plugs, 
so  that  the  fabrication  service  can  watch  more  thoroughl  /  tlie 
machine  shops  whose  products  are  defective', \  \^t\ 

PRACTICE  GRENADES. 

For  grenade  practice,  use  can  be  made  of  inert  grenades,  of 
grenades  weighted  and  supplied  with  active  detonators,  or  of 
regular  war-loaded  grenades. 

To  prevent  confusion,  the  following  conventions  are  estab- 
llished: 

Grenades  painted  grey  are  war-loaded  grenades. 

Grenades  painted  white  are  weighted  and  supplied  with 
[active  fuse-plugs. 

Grenades  painted  red  are  provided  with  inert  detonators 
I  (bored  through)  o  without  detonators  (from  condemned 
'lots"). 

"Lots"  of  fuse-plugs  not  satisfying  the  receiving  conditions 
|:an  be  used  for  practice  with  weighted  grenades,  but  not  on 
[var-loaded  grenades.  They  will  be  stamped  with  a  cross. 

The  firing-plugs  that  can  be  taken  apart,  that  are  furnished 
i;o  instructors,  are  provided  with  inert  detonators  and  bored 
jhrough  to  prevent  any  uncertainty. 

Note. — The  outside  levers  and  the  fragments  of  tin  that  remain 
>n  the  ground  after  a  grenade  practice  represent  a  considerable 
l-alue  (about  25  centimes  per  grenade),  and  must  be  sent  to  the 
Uearest  artillery  establishment  when  there  is  time  to  pick  them  up. 


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